Five weeks after he traveled out of the state, Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, on Friday returned to Akure, the state capital, into a rousing welcome by jubilant crowds.
While he was away, there were speculations that the governor was ill and needed to rest in Abuja; but the Commissioner for Information, Mr Donald Ojogo, dismissed these, saying that his principal was fine and attending to some official matters in Abuja.
The governor after landing at the Akure Airport on Friday evening, confirmed that he sought medical attention and needed time to recuperate in Abuja.
He said ‘’Yes, I needed to seek medical attention. It was nothing so serious as overblown because it is routine. But on my return, I needed to take some time off to strengthen the attention based on advice. It wasn’t as serious as people blew it.
‘’But my stay in Abuja was indeed not a serious period to even rest because I had to attend to a lot of issues that will move the state forward.
In a scenario similar to that of his inauguration which was greeted by a mammoth crowd, the atmosphere on Friday was charged and the sun was scorching; still the people remained undaunted and stood still patiently waiting to see their governor arrive.
Although the day of his arrival was not formally announced, the enthusiastic people of Ondo State got wind of it, and in high spirits stormed the Akure Airport to give their governor a rousing home coming and identify with Akeredolu who had been on working leave at the Governor’s Lodge Abuja, the nation’s Federal capital.
It was like a triumphant entry for him. The cheerful crowd of members of the State Executive Council led by the Deputy Governor, Hon Agboola Ajayi, members of the Ondo State House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Bamidele Oleyelogun, the leadership of All Progressives Congress, APC, led by the state chairman, Mr. Ade Adetimehin, other top government officials and party faithful, traditional rulers led by the state Chairman, Ondo State Council of Obas, Oba Frederick Akinruntan, the Olugbo of Ugbo Kingdom, motorcyclists, members of the NURTW, youth groups, students groups, women groups and various associations trooped out to the Akure Airport to welcome him back to the state.
Also present at the Airport was the governor’s wife, Betty. Various cultural groups decked in different costumes with their acrobatic dances also added glamour to the rousing home coming and entertained the visibly happy crowd.
At exactly 5:25pm, an aircraft landed and the waiting jubilant crowd stood up from every corner and rushed towards the tarmac. But that was not the one carrying the governor.
So, they rushed back and still remained undeterred, but a bit anxious to see their governor.
However, a plane marked N664C took a dramatic touch down at exactly 5:30 in the evening. This time, nobody needed any soothsayer to say that he had finally arrived. Then the crowd burst into a wild jubilation as sounds of trumpets and the drums became louder at every point at the airport.
The security details of the governor and the combined security personnel deployed to the airport had a herculean task controlling the visibly happy crowd who had been waiting since morning to welcome the governor.
After acknowledging cheers from the crowd after alighting from the aircraft, Akeredolu rode in an open roof jeep on a waiting long convoy.
The train moved from the airport through Oba-Ile, Oja Oba, Cathedral junction, and Arakale through NEPA roundabout acknowledging cheers from the people of the state before proceeding to the Alagbaka Government House where he was equally welcomed by Government House staff amidst pomp and pageantry.
During his working leave in Abuja, the governor also took his time to attend to some state assignments. He received an award of the African Innovative Governor of The Year.
Akeredolu also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Medicus International, Germany. Apart from this, he also attended the Nigeria Governors’ Forum meeting and hosted the Southwest Governors’ Forum meeting at the state Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja.
He equally attended the monthly National Economic Council Meeting, met with the new country director of the World Bank, received the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and some members of the National Working Committee of the APC.
While addressing journalists on his arrival, he appreciated the people for the mammoth crowd and their unwavering support for his administration.
He explained that his absence was to enable him take a vacation at the nation’s capital. However, he noted that despite taking some time to rest, he still attended to state matters, and participated at the National Economic Council meeting as well as the Governor’s Forum meeting.
Another very important state assignment performed while in Abuja according to the governor, was the signing of a one billion naira deal with Medicus International which he noted would give a major boost to the healthcare delivery in the state.
Akeredolu said he is always available to serve the people of the state, adding that he is back refreshed and better with full vigour to better serve the state.
He said that he needed to take some rest based on medical advice.
Punch/The Hope
